I grew to love TUCSON by traveling here in the month of September a few years in a row before I permanently moved here. My reasoning was as a Michigan-Midwest native I wanted to be sure I could take the heat. September , for the most part, is simply HOT with little to no rain nor much humidity since the Summer Monsoon Season is winding down. A perfect taste of Dry Heat to teeth upon. That was 26 years or so ago.

Now I sit back and enjoy the Bountiful Display of Desert Beauty that September in the Sonoran Desert has to offer. Look at what the cacti are producing.

Tucson was just included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network . “UNESCO is known as the “intellectual” agency of the United Nations. At a time when the world is looking for new ways to build peace and sustainable development, people must rely on the power of intelligence to innovate, expand their horizons and sustain the hope of a new humanism. UNESCO exists to bring this creative intelligence to life; for it is in the minds of men and women that the defenses of peace and the conditions for sustainable development must be built.”http://en.unesco.org/about-us/introducing-unesco

Tucson has much more than the mere Tamale or Taco to offer in terms of cuisine. Capped with a yearly Iron Chef Tucson Contest held earlier this year on June 26th at the Westin La Paloma.

Read much more HERE from a recent New York Times article about the UNESCO Honor.

In Conclusion the world is corroborating what we have LONG known to be true.

Tucson is THE PLACE to be! Find your Tucson home today at TopTucsonHomes

The Region and Tucson in particular continue to lead in recovery from the recession. Good news since “The population of the Southwest is expected to increase by nearly 70% by mid-century according to the EPA.'[1] The excerpt below is from the Long Realty 2016 Mid-Year Housing Report for Tucson. Tucson is keeping up with the expected growth and is looking toward the future.

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and let them bring their furry little friends! Tucson just was deemed to be THE most Pet-friendly City in the United States by Pet360 in their Pet Parent’s Choice Awards .

Lower Taxes, Sunshine and a Great Lifestyle make Tucson thee place to Retire!

Sunshine and low taxes may be selling points when choosing a city to retire in — but only one city in Florida, which conspicuously boasts of both factors, made the cut in a new list of best cities to retire.

It turns out the Phoenix metropolitan area, not Tampa or Boca Raton, is the best city to retire in, according to Bankrate.com. The “Grand Canyon State” has three metro areas on the list this year.

The worst place to retire, according to the personal finance website, is New York City. The five worst places for retirement are New York City, Little Rock, Arkansas; New Haven, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; and Newark, New Jersey.

While New York ranked first in walkability, its high cost and taxes were negatives.

Bankrate.com ranked 172 American cities based on weather, cost of living, crime rate, health care quality, taxes and “walkability.” The rankings also considered “senior well-being,” a measurement from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that tries to capture satisfaction of surroundings from residents 65 and older.

The top 10 best places for retirement are:

1.

Phoenix metro area (including Mesa and Scottsdale)

2.

Arlington/Alexandria, Va.

3.

Prescott, Ariz.

4.

Tucson, Ariz.

5.

Des Moines, Iowa

6.

Denver (including Aurora)

7.

Austin (including Round Rock)

8.

Cape Coral (including Ft. Myers)

9.

Colorado Springs, Colo.

10.

Franklin, Tenn.

Some may be surprised at some of the cities in the list.

“I think it’s always great to see cities in fly-over states do so well,” said Chris Kahn, Bankrate, research and statistics editor, pointing to Franklin, Tennessee, and Des Moines, Iowa. “A lot of people think of the Sun Belt or the beach when they think of retirement. But there are a lot of great spots further north.”

Kahn said he was surprised more cities from Florida did not make the list.

“In general, Florida cities dropped in our ranking due to high costs of living, a below-average health care system and in some cases high crime rates,” he said.

Tucsonan’s take advantage of Glorious Weather whenever they can. Today is supposed to be one of those days. 76 degrees and SUNNY! Photo shown is of folks dining outside at Dakota Bar and Grill in Traildust Town. A favorite dining and catering establishment. http://www.DakotaCafeandCatering.com